Greenhouse gas reduction by PV

A full CO/sub 2/-balance within the life-cycle of a PV-system requires examination of the CO/sub 2/ sinks and sources at the location and under the conditions of production, during transport, installation an operation, as well as at the site of recycling by PV energy systems may be incorrect if system borders are not set wide enough and remain on a national level, as can be found in the literature. For the examples of Brazil and Germany, the effective CO/sub 2/ reductions are derived, including possible interchange scenarios for production and operation of the PV systems considering the carbon dioxide intensity of the local electrical grids. In the case of Brazil also off-grid applications and the partial substitution of diesel generating sets by photovoltaics are examined. CO/sub 2/ reduction may reach 26805 kg/kW/sub p/ for the case of replacement of diesel generators in Brazil by PV.